It was almost fantastical, how things that were going seamlessly well suddenly took one wrong turn, and went downhill.
I was running toward the West Garden, alone.
Right after receiving Kurosawa’s message, Kaduna’s Soul disappeared. According to her, there was a time limit for the skill. Not only that but Hal had been summoned by the Bride, since he was the last member of the elite Escort Squad.
I couldn’t leave Hal to defend the Bride alone, not after what had happened, so I told Kaduna to stay with him, and for both to pay attention to the Bride. Not having Hal with me would be a loss, especially in a conversation between the Groom and his brother. Yet what could be done?
I’m glad the “boss” had sent me such thorough directions. The West Wing was one of the biggest areas in the castle, and I had left all the maps with Kaduna and Hal, in my hurry.
It didn’t take much for me to find the patio, the ‘grand fountain’ Kurosawa had described stealing a lot of the attention. The moment I spotted the gazebo I gave one final sprint, stopping beside Kurosawa with an uneven breath.
The man was watching the situation from a safe distance, yet there was no time for me to ask if I had missed anything important.
[The Groom is shaking with anger!]
The Groom threw someone against one of the pillars, making the gazebo shake.
[The Groom demands answers from the 2nd Prince.]
The younger prince was a bit shorter than his brother. And although I could feel the same aura and power emanating from him, it was lesser than the Groom.
[The 2nd Prince states there is nothing to be said.]
[The 2nd Prince states he is doing exactly what was asked of him.]
Even when the Groom pushed his brother against the pillar again, the prince kept his relaxed posture. If I could see his face, I wondered what his eyes would tell me, if anything at all.
[The Groom says what the 2nd Prince is doing is far from behaving.]
[He says if word reaches Their Majesties, more people will suffer Their wrath.]
[The 2nd Prince is trying to conceal his fear]
I saw the prince flinching the moment the Groom mentioned their parents. This made me even more curious to meet them.
[The 2nd Prince says Their Majesties will know of nothing, for there is nothing to be known.]
[He states the Groom should simply stand back and watch, and enjoy the wedding.]
The flames that concealed the Groom’s face darkened, their glow more menacing and stronger.
[The Groom claims the 2nd Prince’s entitlement and selfishness will be their downfall.]
To my surprise, the younger prince pushed his brother away. The flames concealing his body burned in defiance.
[The 2nd Prince is furious.]
[The 2nd Prince claims to be the only one who truly cares about the Bride.]
[He says his selfishness pales in comparison to his brother’s.]
[He states if anyone will bring their downfall, it’s the Groom.]
The younger prince did not give time for his older brother to respond. He walked away, not sparing one second glance at the older prince.
The Groom kept staring at the ground, clenching his fists.
[The Groom is distressed.]
You don’t say.
“I will ask you once more, Park Eun-Woo… What have you done?”
Kurosawa’s voice was a low rumble, his words cold and distant.
It was unlikely that my conversation with the Bride had caused this. So I could only assume something changed for the Groom during our previous talk.
But I hadn’t done or said anything much. I reported the situation to the Bride and asked if the Groom knew anything that could help us. The “advice” I requested was more so I could confirm the Groom’s standing regarding the wedding, so it shouldn’t be the cause for his change of behavior.
Yet one of those things had impacted the Groom’s decisions, somewhat.
“The 2nd prince is the one responsible for the Bride’s kidnapping. We think he is in love with her.”
If I expected any kind of reaction from Kurosawa, I would be highly disappointed. “His reasoning should not concern us. All we need to do is make sure the Groom and Bride’s wedding proceed without further complications.” As the man turned to face me, his gaze sent a shiver down my spine. “Can you do this simple task, or is it too much to ask?”
Clenching my fists, I replied with a short nod. Entering an argument with Kurosawa at this moment would not be wise.
Without saying anything else, the man approached the Groom and whispered something to him. Without sparing one single glance my way, they both left the patio.
I let out a sigh, passing my hand through my hair as I tried to think.
What am I doing?
So far, this Trial had been the least straightforward, if I excluded the Third one. Our only directrix was to preserve the Bride and Groom’s joyful day. Make sure there were no interruptions with the wedding.
Yet neither of them was happy.
The more I investigated, the more complicated things became.
We had the 2nd prince and a possible coup.
A love affair between the Bride and the Groom’s brother.
The Groom and his brother fight.
I could see why Kurosawa didn’t want me to get too involved. The more I did so, the messier things turned out to be. The riskier it got for us. We had too little experience with Trials—with this world—to act without thinking. To diverge from instructions.
…yet I did know someone who was different. Someone who had experience.
As the thought surfaced, I immediately sent out a message, cursing myself for not thinking about that person earlier. Waiting anxiously for a reply.
[You have received a new message]
My joy was immediately replaced by disappointment when I saw it wasn’t from the person I was hoping.
Yet as I read the message, a new feeling spread against my chest. A warmth I didn’t want to get too acquainted with or hold too close.
[Our Squad is done for now. Some interesting things happened since the last time we talked.
Do you want to meet?]
----------------------------------------
It took me a while to find my way back, yet I was able to spot her almost immediately.
No matter how I looked, people like Aída always stood out. As if they were meant to shine brighter.
We decided to meet in the garden. It was close to the main venues where the party would happen, and also the Wedding Hall.
The moment she saw me, she waved with a smile.
As I got closer, however, the smile turned into a frown.
“Is everything all right?”
I wondered what kind of expression I had to make her ask me that.
“I will be once we are done with this fucking Trial.” I sighed, staring at the clock that appeared whenever I checked my tasks.
[Time till the Wedding Reception: 0:42:25]
[0:42:24]
[0:42:23]
“Did something happen?”
It was not the way her eyes focused on mine that got to me, much less how she closed the distance between us. But the genuine concern in her voice.
I averted my eyes, trying to soothe my beating heart.
“I’m still trying to figure out how to proceed with this Trial. The more I try to investigate, the more chaotic things get.
Aída let out a frustrated cry by my side, leaning against the wall. “Don’t even get me started. I can’t remember the last time I worked so much in such a short amount of time.”
“You said something interesting happened.”
Her eyes lit up, a new weight being carried by her voice.
“We received an unexpected visit as we were wrapping up the decorations for the Wedding Hall.”
Even as I made a guess, I was not expecting to get it right.
“Was it the 2nd prince?”
For a second she looked at me, surprised, but then her voice got lower. Fiercer.
“You know something, don’t you? Something that happened involving the 2nd prince.”
I nodded once, before summarizing the most important points to her. The more she listened, the darker the shadows within her eyes became.
When I was finished, Aída fell into silence, staring into the distance as if she was processing all the new information. Pondering.
“What did the 2nd prince talk about with your Squad?”
“He actually made some pretty odd requests. It even updated the current tasks we had, so we were forced to rearrange some things.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What did he ask?”
“It’s easier to send it to you.”
As I opened the alterations Aída sent me, I held my breath.
Changing shifts for the Patrol Squad.
Rearranging tables and guests.
Changing the order of the meals.
It all seemed trivial. Like a prince nitpicking things and being a pain to deal with. But when I added what I knew, the intentions of the 2nd prince suddenly became quite clear.
He was planning something big for the Wedding Reception.
I remained in silence for a few more moments, trying to figure out what I could do. And no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one thing that came to mind.
“You said you finished all your tasks, right?”
Aída confirmed in a heartbeat. “Yes, I’m free for now.”
“Then do you want to do some side exploration?”
Because I had to know what the 2nd prince was thinking.
And for that, we had to break into his room.